However, Jackson County Commissioner Jody Thompson said he was disappointed in Cummings' resignation and suggested that politics played a role in the decision.

Cummings submitted his resignation on April 27, following at least a week of closed-door executive meetings held by the chamber board, Thompson said.

"(The chamber board members) were in deliberations for about two weeks, and then (Cummings) turns in his resignation," he said. "Then I call the chamber and nobody would talk to me to explain why he's leaving."

The county pays half the chamber president's salary, Thompson said, and he was irritated no one from the chamber board, including Commission Chairwoman Pat Bell, told other commissioners about Cummings' resignation.

"We didn't have any input or communication about it," Thompson said.

Repeated calls to several chamber board members, including Bell, Chairman Jim Yarborough and Jackson County Industrial Development Authority Chairman Scott Martin, were not returned.

As the chamber president, Cummings filled the role as the county's de facto coordinator for economic development. Companies like Toyota, Kubota, Haverty's, Takeuchi and others have built major plants in Jackson County during Cummings' tenure as chamber president.

"I'm the guy that tries to make things happen, and I'll let somebody else assess the quality of the results," Cummings said.

The results have been outstanding, according to Thompson.

"(Cummings) has been the head of ship of the hottest economic times of this county," he said. "Jackson County, under his leadership has done more industry now than we've ever had."

The Jackson Herald reported that the closed-door chamber board meetings were prompted by a complaint from state officials about the way Cummings allegedly treated a state Department of Economic Development official.

Department officials declined to comment, but spokeswoman Alison Tyrer said, "We have recommended the Jackson County area many times to prospects, and we expect to continue to do so."

Even if the report is true, that's not a good reason to force him out, Thompson said.

"You don't get rid of someone for ruffling a few feathers," he said. "He's done too good a job."